A History of L
by HJPG Lawliet
Summary: the life and times of L, from birth until adulthood, including the origin of Near and other secrets revealed about the notorious detective as narrated by Watari and third person POV. possible lemon, and possible LxMisa crushes in future chapters.
1. Birth and childhood

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, the characters, the plot, or the rights to say I do. Tsugumi Ohba owns it all.

Note: most of this story is told by Watari, also known as Quillish Wammy. Also, L's name at the beginning of the story is Noel. Of course, you will find out why.

A History of L: a look into the life and times of L. Lawliet, world class detective.

It has been many years since I founded the Wammy's house for gifted orphans, and over the years I have dealt with the world's most remarkable children. And even so, I always thought of L to be one that stood out among the many faces that greeted me on their way to class in the mornings. Truly, L was of a genre completely of a different kind. He was not like most children, but I loved him like I would one of my own children, and he along with all of the others, were my children. The orphanage was founded around the time my wife, Marilynn discovered that she was barren, and that we could never have children. Out of our desire to have children, we formed Wammy's house.

Years after we had established the orphanage and Marilynn had passed, L was brought to us. He was eight years old, and quite peculiar for such a young boy. Most of the readers know of L's later years and the Kira case, but I have come to shed some light on the part of L's life that was previously unknown. And so begins our story...

(third person POV/ observer POV)

It was Halloween, 1979. An English/ French eighteen year old girl was now suffering the consequences of a night with a Japanese/ Russian boy that she met on her school trip to Tokyo nine months previously, was now lying tiredly in a bed in a London hospital. Noelle Lawliet had done some foolish things in her life, but this by far was the most foolish, but it had already happened, her baby boy with out a father had just been born, and now there was no turning back.

Her mother stood outside of the room where all of the newborns were kept, and watched her grandchild stare at her back with wide eyes of confusion. He was a small baby, weighing exactly six pounds, and already had deep black hair and pale white skin like his father. A small bracelet had been attached to the baby's wrist that read: Noel Lawliet, six pounds, born: 12:00 am, 10/31/79 gender: male.

He was named for his mother, since Noelle's mother didn't want him named for his father, Ryuuzaki Rue. A nurse scooped Noel up out of the plastic basket that just like him, the other babies were lying in, and walked with his grandmother to his mother's room. The baby did not cry much, but instead would moan if he was held a bit too tightly or loosely. Holding him in her arms, Noelle cradled the unusually quiet baby into a gentle sleep.

He did not resemble his mother at all, save her eyes. Both Noelle and Noel had particularly large eyes, blueish gray in color, and every other physical trait had come from Ryuuzaki. Noel's face flushed pink as he became warm from being close to his mother. His delicate hands were close to his mouth, and he began to suck his thumb softly as Noelle rocked him back and forth, saying, "I love you, 'el." After that, he was always called 'El as his nickname.

Eight years after Noel's birth, his mother dated a man named George Pennington. Together in a small London apartment, he, his mother, and his grandmother lived quietly. George did not like children, and especially not Noel. He found Noel to be creepy because of his large eyes, and the way he used them to stare at people. He found it to be even more disturbing that Noel could read well written books on high levels, and was very advanced for a boy of only eight years old. He could point out when George was not adding the right amount to pay his bills, to make change, and it annoyed George to no end.

When Noel's mother and grandmother were away, and George babysat Noel, he would become violent when angry. Soon, little Noel was covered in bruises from George beating him with the broom, and hitting him whenever he spoke or cried from the pain. Whenever Noel stayed with George, he was too afraid to ask for anything, so he sat in the corner, sucking his thumb, knees clutched to his chest. His mother did notice the bruises, but George explained that Noel would fall down the stairs sometimes, or he would bump into tables, or trip.

It was never addressed how this sort of thing could happen, but when Noel's mother and grandmother died in a car accident, he was left to live with George. One day, Noel saw George's guitar mounted on the wall, and being a curious thinker, Noel took it apart to see how it functioned. George did not say a word all day, and that night he stepped outside of the house and tossed lit fire logs at it and locked all of the doors, and drove off to never come back.

Noel hid in the washing machine, fearful of the fire that was burning down the house all around him. It wasn't until morning that a fire man found the suprisingly unharmed washing machine with Noel hidden safely inside. The young boy was covered head to toe in ashy, but soggy, laundry, and numerous bruises and cuts from George's abuse for the last two months. A fire man helped him out of the washer and wrapped the boy, shivering from the winter air, in a blanket and carried a very scared and shocked Noel to the truck, to be taken to the police station.

While riding in the big fire truck, the fireman, a Japanese looking man, told Noel not to be afraid, and that he would be safe for now. Still frightened, Noel stared with his big eyes at the man. "Oh, forgive me, the fire man said in his broken English, "I didn't tell you my name. I am fire chief Ryuuzaki, Rue." Noel made a note to remember his name forever as the man who saved his life, neither men knowing that they were father and son, and that Ryuuzaki had moved to England, only to find that his lover, Noelle, was dead.

As a police officer with a first aid kit bandaged Noel's arms and legs from infection, he was questioned. The first, out of all of these, was: "what is your name?"Because Noel had always been called "'el", when authorities asked him what his name was, all he knew to reply was, "L. Lawliet." From that moment on in his life, Noel's birth name would forever be L.


	2. A visitor

A History of L

chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, the characters, or any part. Tsugumi Ohba does.

Lawliet was taken to an orphanage when he was found to be an orphan, but it was not until two months after that he was recommended to us at Wammy's. I can still remember seeing him for the first time with my own eyes. I had arrived at a small orphanage, housing about one hundred orphans, and it was about nine am.

I had received a call from the establishment asking for me to come in regards to a new child who was "specially gifted". Of course, every case that I had dealt with usually started this way, of reports of brilliant children that had unusual talents. Interested, I came, hoping to find a child that could have talents that would, in the future, better society as a whole.

Normal POV

It was morning at the orphanage. For once in a long time, L actually went to sleep the previous night. Because he had not slept in several nights, L was very sleepy, and had developed dark circles under his eyes. The tired little boy had tucked his head under the blanket, and curled himself into a ball, sucking his thumb softly. A maid walked into the room he shared with twelve other children, and all of them had gotten up at eight and had already left to eat breakfast, except L, who remained deep in sleep.

"L", the matronly maid said gently shaking his shoulder, "it's time to get up." Sleepishly turning his head around to face her, he yawned a very big yawn. "My, my, L", the maid said helping the boy out of bed, "how did you get such large circles under your eyes?" L smiled, and reached under the bed, to pull out a coloring book filled with mathematical puzzles and theories he had questioned, codes he had cracked, and what appeared to be calculus problems he himself had created and answered.

The maid smiled back, "today L, those will come in handy, keep that coloring book with you, there is a visitor downstairs that would want to see that." Leading him down the steps, the boy wearing a baggy white t- shirt and a pair of misfitted jeans, and a thumb in his lips, the maid lead him to the front room, where an older man in a black suit holding a pocket watch awaited him.

L stared at the man in amazement, a sheepish look in his eyes showing his shyness. The old man had a kind look to him, very humbling. He had obviously worked with children before. Getting out of the chair and settling on one knee to be closer to L's height, the man extended his hand forward to the boy. "I have heard many things about you lately from the people who work here, L. My name is Quillish Wammy, but you may call me, Watari.

Slowly and nervously, L reached up and shook his hand, not knowing why he was there. The older man chuckled, "don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. I am here because of that", he said pointing to the coloring book. A big smile creeped across L's face as he held out the coloring book filled with his equations. His tired eyes lit up as Watari became mesmorized in the book.

"My goodness, this is quite advanced for a boy your age, is it not?", Watari asked, "might you lead me through your process of finding the answer to this one?", he said pointing to a calculus question, the toughest one. L smiled, "Why yes, sir, I can show you", he declared. Carefully going through the steps, the young boy showed his reasoning for the answer. " I am very impressed with your work, L. If you could please come with me," the old man gestured, leading L out of the room. Moving to a small, private room, he then made a short written test of questions in mathematics. L sat in a chair, knees to his chest, holding the paper very cautiously, and solved every one of them, all correct.

"Now then," Watari began, "how would you feel about living in a new home hypothetically speaking, where you could have whatever you wanted, but in return, you turn your rare talents over to us, and let us use them to better the world for the future?" L sat in a chair and thought for a moment and sucked his thumb profusely as his thoughts deepened. "I would very much like that, Mr. Watari, I have no home, no parents, and here, possibly no future. I would most certainly take that opportunity."

Watari smiled, "I am glad you have caught on. Is that a talent of yours too?" L nodded with a grin, "I like figuring things out and especially mysteries." "Well, good then, L, we will have a very special place for you in the Wammy's house for gifted orphans", Watari proposed. "But one more thing, Mr. Watari," the bright child asked,

"Will there be people that love me?"

That question echoed the small room. "you know," Watari said, "there will be people that love you very much, and in fact, I will be the first of your new family to say, that I promise to love you and care for you as if you were my own child." Extending his arms, L's eyes filled with tears for the first time since he had come to the small orphanage, and jumped out of the chair and ran to Watari as the old man held his new "son" in a warm, tight, hug.

Walking to the front desk, Watari and L talked to the director of the orphanage, three days later, L was ready to move to his new home.


	3. A teenage proposition

A History of L

A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

chapter 3

disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Tsugumi Ohba does.

L, holding nothing more than a raggedy stuffed bunny that his mother had given him, stepped into the black limo that had pulled up to the front door of the orphanage, as Watari held the door open. It was a snowy winter evening, making L curl up into a ball as he sat in the back of the spacious limousine. He wore an off-white overcoat that was big and fluffy, and he appeared to be in a daze as he peered through the tinted windows.

It was a long ride, about an hour long, and Watari would have spoken to L, but staying up for the past week's nights had made the little boy tired, and he had fallen asleep after about twenty-five minutes. Finally, the car pulled up to the magnificent orphanage that is Wammy's House. Watari opened the door and stirred L from his hibernation, "We are here", helping him out of the car, together, the two of them walked up the large iron gate, with the orphanage's emblem at the top. "Welcome home," Watari said holding L's hand. The boy said nothing, face covered by his hair, his only response was squeezing the old man's hand with his own.

Later, as they made their way up the many stairs that seemed to greet them at the entrance in the downstairs foyer, they passed other children, their stairs making L a bit too uncomfortable. He burried his face in Watari's sleeve from them, feeling shy. Noticing the child's discomfort, he scooped him up and continued up the stairs, down the hall, to a steel, mechanical looking, door. Opening the door, he set L down, and revealed a white room, barren, with padded walls, and a single laptop plugged into the wall. L's eyes beamed, growing even wider than usual. Watari smiled, "I thought that a boy as smart as you are deserved his own room." A smile crept across the brunette boy's mouth. "It's perfect", he said with his thumb still in his mouth. The older man laughed lightly, "But don't you want any furniture, L?" The boy quickly shook his head, "It's fine the way it is."

After about eight years, L's room had acquired eleven monitors, ten computers, and five laptops to his collection. L had, in those eight years, been solving cases, earning his rightful place in life as the world's greatest detective. He was remarkably witty, and and about a few years earlier, when the orphanage was in debt, he, at only the age of eleven, had solved not just that problem, but made the Wammy's house financially stable for many years to come.

At age sixteen, the young detective now stood at five feet eight inches tall, and seemed to walk in a slouch. His diet consisted of anything sweet, but suprisingly, he was in good health. Bags under his eyes from sleepless nights, worn jeans, a white long sleeved shirt, and shaggy black hair, L truly now had the mark of an eccentric genius. Despite his tired appearance, he was very much alive and youthful, though he had been an adult from age eight as the world had come to believe.

Being sixteen, the teenage boy was now too old to live at Wammy's house any longer, and because he was constantly having to hide his face from the other children so they would not know of his true age or even his name, Watari had moved him to a special "lair" that he had made while L was still a child, located in Japan. Moving was not a problem for L, for he had become literate in not only Japanese, but a variety of other languages.

For L, nothing was too difficult, the world was at his finger tips, cases to be solved, but there was one question left unanswered: Who would take over as "L" when L was no longer alive? Sure, it seemed to early to ask these kinds of questions, but being the world's greatest detective was no easy task, and L knew that giving away the slightest shred of information about himself could result in exposure, or even worse, death. Watari wanted to fully make sure L would be safe no matter what, but in case of such accidents, he had also come up with a back up plan. Convincing L would not be as easy as the plan itself was, however.

Watari's plan was this: because L was naturally brilliant, it must have been inherited somewhere along his ancestors. Taking that into consideration, if L was to ever father a child, that child would inherit the gene, and in turn, be a genius as well, and take over for L if he was ever assassinated. It was a good plan, but the great detective was still only a minor, meaning the only option would be to have him give a sperm sample and have a surrogate mother inseminated, carrying the new "L" offspring, and then after the birth, the child would be sent to Wammy's.

The old man did not think L would have difficulty grasping this plan, but would have many questions and concerns. Walking into the stark white room, the first sight was the teenage brunette, seated in his favorite chair, eating a sundae, when Watari sat down at the chair opposite to L. The wide eyed boy looked confused as the elderly father figure he had come to know over the years turned off his computers and moved L's ice cream aside calmly. With a kind smile on his face and gently taking L's hand as he reached for the frozen treat now at arms length away, said, "L, I know I have let you eat and watch the monitors in the past while we have talked, but today, I need your full, undivided attention." the detective, slightly annoyed that he could not finish the food, was quite understanding when Watari had something important to say, and at this moment, was no less.

Looking sheepish and innocent, the boy asked, "What is it that you need to tell me, Watari?", his voice soft and hushed. Over the years, his voice had remained quiet and shy, but the tone and inflection still held true to their meaning.

Taking a deep breath, his caretaker responded carefully, "because you must be protected and unseen, am I correct when I assume you have not been around, or seen many women since you were small?" there was a pause, but as L brought his thumb up to his lips he answered, "you are correct when you say I have not been around many women, but I have seen women", he grinned a small grin as he pulled a magazine out from under his chair. Proudly showing it to Watari, the magazine read: "Eighteen magazine" with pictures of teenage girls, modeling in springtime dresses, innocent smiles and laughter filling their faces. Columns on the cover told of interviews, new movies, and CD releases.

Scanning the magazine, the old caretaker could tell right away that L was becoming a young man, and was now taking quite an interest in idol girls. "Watari, I know very well that women are anatomically structured differently, but what does it look like? I have wondered this for a few years now, and every time it comes into my head, more frequently now than ever, I get strange feelings, in my stomach", and then the detective lowered his head, almost as if in shame, "and, down "there". Covering his eyes with his bangs, L blushed deep red, hoping that he would not be punished for such forbidden thoughts. "And one time, I got those same feelings, and I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I began to feel a kind of pain down there, like I was lacking something I needed. I thought if I squeezed it, it might go away, but instead, ... something else happened. I feel really ashamed, because it felt... good, and I know it was wrong. I'm very sorry Watari", the boy said timidly, he was almost in tears from worry. He had known that what he had experienced was in some fashion, part of reproduction. He did not think dirty thoughts, only the thoughts of an innocent minded boy... who was curious.

Watari merely sat listening and nodded gently, and getting up from his chair, he stood L up. Taking the detective in a warm hug, he wrapped his arms around the distressed boy. "There is no need to worry, L. Nothing is wrong with you, those feelings are perfectly natural for a boy your age. It is normal for you wonder about the female body, and for your body to have that kind of reaction. It's alright." L looked up at Watari, relieved. Sitting the boy back down, the elderly caretaker began to unfoil his plan.

He explained to the young genius what it was that L had accidentally discovered and the reproduction process. "I understand what the process is, but why must we speak of it now?", the boy asked curiosity rising. "Well, as you know, being a detective, you know that you could possibly someday be in danger, and you will need someone to take over for you when you and I are gone", Watari said being as reasonable as possible. L was now very curious, but dreading what all of this talk would lead to. He knew somewhere, deep down what it lead to, but he didn't want to admit it. Worry began to fill the abyss in his deep gray eyes. Feeling as thought he knew the answer, the detective lowered his head once more, and quietly uttered, "I am too young to have a child, Watari."

Smiling fatherly, the old man laughed lightly, "oh, my dear boy, of course you are! I wouldn't dream of making you take care of a child at your age, but you are very close to what I do want you to do. Remember what happened at that time when you relieved the tension in your lower region?" L's eyes flashed open with embarrassment and remembrance. "yes." Watari continued, "You produced semen. With your sperm, we will impregnate a woman and she will carry a child as a surrogate mother. After the child is born, she will turn it over to Wammy's house to be trained in becoming the next L after you have passed." The detective was at a loss of words.

Eyes wider than usual, sat with his knees hugged to his chest, thoughts rushing through the detective's head. It was not often that L got nervous, and with this issue, his nervousness was harder to handle. He had always known in the back of his head that he would soon need someone to takeover if he should ever die, but never in this manner. There were so many questions he had; would he take care of the child? Would he have to fulfill the responsibilities of a father? He was but sixteen years of age, much too young. What would happen if he grew attached? Could he ever see his child? Yes, L pondered many things, but surely such an outrageous plan would most certainly be well thought out if it was made by Watari.

As confused as the teen was, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, internally accepting the plan, and embracing the possibilities of a new heir, his heir. "Alright", L said looking his father like figure in the eyes, "if this is your idea, I'm certain that it is safe and well- worth the trouble." Watari smiled back and headed to the door. "I am very much obliged, L, now get some rest, you will need your strength for tomorrow."


	4. New faces

A History of L

chapter 4

disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Tsugumi Ohba does.

It was nighttime, several months since the detective's trip to the fertility clinic, back at Wammy's after a few months from previous moving, and finally a night when L could get some sleep at the least. Because L disliked having furniture, he was curled up, sound asleep in his chair, that is, until awoken by a knock on his room's door.

Watari rushed in and shook the boy's shoulder lightly. "We must leave at once, sir", he said helping a very bewildered and drowsy L up from his chair. He said nothing, only following Watari to the car and stepping inside. Along the way to wherever they were going, the detective fell back into deep sleep in the back of the car. Finally, the car pulled up to a nearby hospital.

L could not remember how or why, due to the early morning hours, but moments later, ended up in a hospital hallway, staring drowsily through glass into the eyes of newly born babies. Becoming more alert as the moments passed, the detective raised his hand to his face, pressing his sinuses between his eyes trying to concentrate on where he was. Coming to sudden realization, he gasped. He was at a hospital for the birth of his child. One of these newborns was his.

Asking for permission from a night shift nurse, he entered the room quietly. There were many babies in the room, and quite a few had dark hair, but which one was it? He looked from basket to basket searching for "Lawliet", but none of them bore his name.

Eventually, he looked for his name on the ones that had lighter hair, but none of them were his. Feeling dejected, he walked out of the room, and back to the hallway. He stood, a disappointed look in his eyes that he would not see his child. He couldn't keep it even if he wanted to, but nonetheless, he wanted to see it. Nearly giving up, his eyes fogged over and he stared in a daze.

Suddenly, the depressed youth felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning to face Watari, the look of lost hope still lingering, the detective's eyes fell to the floor. The elderly man smiled, "Don't give up so easily", he said placing a hand on L's shoulder, "He's in that room", the man pointed towards the door to his right. L's face lit up. "You may see him," he urged the boy.

Feeling his heart beat beneath his chest, he couldn't breathe as he entered the room cautiously. The room consisted of a table, two chairs, a TV, a window, and a bed, where a tired, young, woman lay, holding a bundle wrapped in a blanket, in her arms. The woman smiled an exhausted smile. She was albino, hair being the lightest of blond, and brownish red eyes. Somehow, as if she read his mind, she handed the tiny being to L.

Gently, L held the baby boy. He was very quiet, and soon fell softly into sleep against his warm chest. The detective stroked the baby's hair, full of white waves resembling the waves in his own hair. Running his delicate pale fingers over one of the infant's tiny hands, the baby grasped them, tight and made a small cooing sound. All L could think was, "this is mine. I'm a part of him. I can't believe something like this came from part of me." He smiled, holding to him, the most precious thing in the world. He, a teenage boy, holding his son and heir.

Looking up to the door, acknowledging Watari's presence into the room, L suddenly remembered that this child was his, but he could not keep him, he now belonged to Wammy's. Overcome with the need to be by this child's side, he held the baby close and silently began to cry. He kissed his forehead and the baby clung to his shirt as the detective rocked him gently, tears trailing out of his now, blue eyes.

Watari patted L on the shoulder. "I see you've taken a liking to him", he said comforting the boy. "He's beautiful", L whispered softly. Watari continued, "His name is Nate Rivers, but to you, his name will always be "Near" so he is close to you. I will make sure that before he gets too old, that you will be able to visit him. The detective smiled a small smile. At least he would see him once in a while. Watari left L in the room to gather his thoughts and bond and the woman was wheeled out in a wheelchair to get medication.

The baby looked gingerly up at his father, L's face still hot and wet. Wiping his face, he tried his best to smile for the new child. Near held out a petite hand to the raven haired boy's face. He let the infant grab his finger as he walked over to a rocking chair in the room and sat normally, due to the fragile nature of a newborn baby. L studied Near. He too, like his mother, was albino, but had the hint of a flesh tone close to L's. The baby's cheeks were flushed pink like strawberry juice on a snow cone. His eyes were dark and bold like his, and he even sucked his thumb in the same manner that the detective had sucked his minutes ago. He was wrapped in a soft, light yellow, blanket, and wore a light blue one piece. As L studied the baby, Near studied L. He was definitely going to be like his father. L took in the baby's clean scent as he brought Near up to his chest to hold him close again. The white haired baby did not fuss and was relatively quiet. Feeling drowsy again, he tucked his head into the nape of L's neck and drifted off.

A few minutes later, Watari came back into the room. "L, we have to get going", he said beckoning the boy to the door. After, a doctor had also entered to retrieve Near. Nodding his head, L then looked down at the baby and kissed him once again, saying, "I love you, Near."

A year later, L was able to leave Japan and visit the orphanage. Upon arrival, he was introduced to the children as a visitor named Ryuuzaki. The entire day, L "toured" Wammy's and met the children, coming from various countries around the world. None of them were informed or had any information about Ryuuzaki actually being the Great detective L, hidden away in his room for years. Rumors started by the students, were that he had simply vanished into thin air, which was exactly what he wanted them to think.

All day long, L had seen all of the students, but who he had really come to see was much too young to be a student. One of the maids was shocked when Ryuuzaki had asked her to show him the nursery, as it was kept a secret to outsiders. Showing him the way, the maid led him down a long hallway, ending in the nursery, but halfway down the hall, was a four year old, boy, with shoulder length, blond hair. He was playing by himself, looking lonely.

Tugging on the maid's sleeve, the secret detective asked, "who is this little boy?" The lady smiled as she picked him up and stood him up straight. "This," she said planting a hand on his head, "is Mello. He came here a year ago, from Russia. He is believed to not speak English, as he does not speak at all, except with another child, named Matt, but Matt will not tell us how many languages he speaks, otherwise, I would have guessed that Matt speaks Russian too."

L stooped down in his usual primate pose, thumb in his mouth, as he stared into Mello's eyes. They shared the same bluntness that Near's eyes had, but the deeper L stared, the more he sensed that Mello secretly harbored anger, but of what? The detective couldn't be sure." He was Russian, that much L knew, so processing through his mind, he started to say "hello Mello" in Russian. Mello's eyes widened. A small smile crept across his pink cheeks. Smiling back, the raven haired man pulled out a bar of chocolate. "This is for you", he said kindly in Russian. The blond boy reached out shyly and quickly grabbed the chocolate and ate it all, right there, and then just stared at L.

The maid unlocked the door. "Ryuuzaki, you may come in now", ushering him to the door. Nodding, L stood and turned to walk, feeling as though it was a failed attempt to get the boy to speak up, but then, felt a small hand grasp his. Looking down at his side, he saw Mello, blushing, but having a strong want to hold onto L and follow him. Leading Mello, the detective walked into the nursery, finding Near immediately, being the only Albino child.

He quietly approached Near, now one year old. Near was playing with building blocks in a corner, spelling words, even though he had not learned to speak. Sitting Mello down on a couch in the room, the raven haired boy tapped Near's shoulder. The baby turned around and faced L. He smiled at the child and patted his head, not sure whether he should play with Near, or just hold him. While the detective thought about his options, the white haired baby tried to get up and walk towards L, but lost balance and fell. L reached out to catch him, but it was too late. Near now lay on the floor, crying. Quickly picking up the sobbing child, L carried him to the couch that Mello was now crawling all over, but as soon as he saw L coming, sat back down, giving him full authority.

The brunette boy sat down next to Mello, holding Near in his arms patting him gently so he wouldn't cry anymore. Any normal baby would not be able to recognize a person that they had met only moments after their birth, but Near was no normal infant. Looking up from sobbing into L's shirt and into his eyes, he quickly recognized him, and smiled, wrapping his arms around the detective's neck to hug him. This was a bad sign. L would not be able to visit Near often now, because he could identify his face, or worse, his name. Nevertheless, he had come here to enjoy Near's company, so he took every moment into consideration. On the other hand, the little Russian boy, Mello, needed somebody to look forward to visiting, and maybe this would make him more open to speaking. Happy that his new friend that he seemed to think of as a protector, was back, Mello clung tightly to L's right arm, protectively.

After Near had finished hugging L, he showed him all of his toys that he kept with him. Even though L knew nothing about children, the two boys seemed to be attached to him. The rest of the afternoon was spent with them, and the detective was quite certain, because of their behavior and ability to identify with many subjects, that these two were the smartest in the orphanage. Near had been born to succeed L, but now L was wondering if Mello should succeed him to. He would not replace Near, but take the place of Eraldo Coil and Deneuve, both names also being aliases for L, meaning there could be two Ls, but right now, the detective couldn't be sure.

Over the course of a few years, L had visiting the orphanage down to an art. He did not visit often, maybe once in three years, but he hid his identity well. All Near and Mello, and Matt, who L had also become aquainted with, knew, was that Ryuuzaki was a former student of Wammy's had succeeded in owning a huge organization, and that every now and then, he came to check on things, and visit with the children. None of them ever knew it was L, and over the years, Near would tell Ryuuzaki about his study of the detective's work, and how he admired L.

Near was of the emotionless sort, but even in his his eyes, it was evident that the detective had won him over. On one visit, Near told the brunette, now twenty, about when L contacted the orphanage via computer. He never saw his face, only the letter L on the screen. At first, Near had had no interest in him whatsoever, but after hearing how L responded to the other children's questions, he found the detective to be intriguing.

A month after hearing him, Near and Mello were L's top choices for a successor. Mello, in those years, had become a kind of bully, but his intelligence was never matched- except with Near's. The two were bitter rivals, Mello more bitter due to Near's apathy. L had included in the letter to Wammy's upon choosing the boys, was that they had particularly nasty looks on their faces. L, never being of the nasty order, liked that they were rough around the the edges, and that they were rude to just stare at the screen and not ask any questions. They thought they had figured the world out, and despite their bratty disposition, they had.

At their age, L remembered not having manners himself, eating during most of his important meetings, and always finding ways to cheat the criminal as long as justice was restored. Neither acted like a spoiled child, but just like L, they both were. From spying on them at the orphanage with cameras hidden, L could tell that both boys fit both extremes it took to have his job; Mello, being physically and ruthlessly strong, and Near, mentally and emotionally strong.

A week later, L was back in Japan, and decided to take a walk to the local park. It was a busy day, and there were many people. Sitting on a park bench, he watched as an elderly woman was approached by two men who looked dangerous. Just as he was about to go and defend the woman, he sat back and spyed as a young teen, about thirteen walked up calmly, and single handedly beat up the two men, who had been harrassing the woman, holding her at gunpoint.

He extended his hand to the woman, to help her up, and smiled asking if she was alright, and then walked away. The boy, who L had watched intensely, had auburn hair, wore a sweater vest of a private school, and had the name "Light Yagami" embroidered on it, underneath the school's coat of arms in the right corner. Looking over, now noticing L's arrival to the bench, he nodded, smiling, but really, was internally disturbed his his presence. He looked odd to the boy, sitting with his knees to his chest in an odd position, and he looked much too old to be eating the giant, striped, lollipop he held between only his finger and thumb.

Ignoring the child's disturbed eyes despite his smile, L nodded back, "You did the right thing. Don't worry, I will call the authorities about those two", he said pointing his confection at the two men. "Ah, thank you", the boy said running along. After all, it was not good to talk to strangers, and good was what Light was the epitome of, or so L thought.


End file.
